Why hunger in India is worse than in Nepal: 10 points | India News

India was ranked 97th last year. The country’s hunger problem is driven by high child malnutrition, and underlines the need for stronger commitment to the social sector, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) said in its report.

WASTING RATE

According to the report, India’s wasting rate hasn’t substantially improved over the last 25 years, even though the child stunting rate has improved over this period.

AVAILABILITY OF FOOD

The availability of solid food with breast milk for young children (when they transition from exclusive breastfeeding) declined from 52.7 per cent to 42.7 per cent.

ADEQUATE DIET

The proportion of children between six and 23 months who received an adequate diet was 9.6 per cent.

SANITATION FACILITIES

No more than 48.4 per cent of households had access to improved sanitation facilities; sanitation is an important factor in improving nutrition.

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS YET TO ACHIEVE TARGET

India has implemented a “massive scale-up” of two national programs that address nutrition – the Integrated Child Development Services and the National Health Mission – but these have yet to achieve adequate coverage, IFPRI quoting Menon’s report said.

INDIA BETTER THAN PAKISTAN

India ties with Djibouti and Rwanda for the 100th rank, and with a score of 31.4 of 100 (with 0 being best and 100 the worst) but its neighbours in South Asia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are doing better than India. Only Pakistan and Afghanistan are doing worse than India.

THE RISE OF NEPAL

Nepal’s GHI score was also in the alarming category in 2000, but has now ranks 72 (in the serious category), verging on moderate rise, IFPRI said in the report.